Five People You Meet in Heaven - Review of First Half of Book

The Five People You Meet in Heaven: Journal pp. 1-176

After reading the majority of this book, I realized the author is trying to get a number of messages across. The idea that stuck out most to me was that what happens in life is not random, or by chance; everything happens for a reason. This is realized when Eddie starts his journey in heaven, upon meeting the Blue Man.

Eddie had to flash back all the way to when he was just a little kid playing ball with his brother, but the Blue Man was right: Eddie caused his death. On page 48, the Blue Man says, “It is because the human spirit knows, deep down, that all lives intersect. That death doesn’t just take someone, it misses someone else, and in the small distance between being taken and being missed, lives are changed.”

I think the Blue Man basically means that although it is sad he had to die, there is still good to come out of this sadness. The good is Eddie; he survived. This made me think. If the Blue Man had not swerved his car, he might have survived. But, then what would have happened to Eddie? Eddie would most likely never of been able to save the life of the little girl when he sacrificed his own life. It is funny to think how so many different people truly can be connected to each other. I wonder how many other people played a role in saving that little girl’s life, aside from Eddie and The Blue Man.

Upon reading this book, it is clear the author is weaving together a story through many different people. I have no doubt that Eddie’s life has been shaped and molded by each person he has met, regardless of whether or not he has met them all in his past life. This is why I think one of the big messages of this book is that nothing is truly “random” in life.

This can easily be taken and applied to the real, current world. Even simply walking down the street and holding a door open for somebody has potential to impact a life in a positive way. I think sometimes people are full of negativity in their...